Dystopian fiction is culturally valuable. It is a way of critiquing our world and imagining the social consequences of following particular pathways. Unsurprisingly, dystopian – and utopian – constructions are popular with politicians at election time. Currently, there are daily depictions of terrifying futures should rival parties win the election, or rosier alternatives for the UK should they lose. Teenagers are fond of dystopian literature too. In a world run by adults whose values and actions are beyond embarrassing, dystopian fictions can seem uncomfortably close to reality – even though you may not yet be old enough to vote on them. Unsurprisingly, some Year 9 students have been enjoying reading ‘The Hunger Games’, ‘Brave New World’, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, ‘1984’ and ‘Clockwork Orange’. Many of them are fans of ‘Game of Thrones’. And, on the back of this reading, viewing and discussion they have been devising dark futures and writing their own compelling episodes. As part of NWP’s research, I have been privileged to follow some of these writers’ journeys. I am trying to trace some of the benefits to students of having a teacher who writes herself.

One year 9 student, Jasmine, tells me how she was influenced by reading in history how soldiers returning from the second world war sometimes received little psychological support in readjusting to civilian life. Jasmine creates a knife-wielding narrator-murderer – not dissimilar to Alex in ‘Clockwork Orange’ - who is in denial about his responsibility for his actions. She lets us hear this through the repeated patterns of the narrator’s voice: “ pretend ... pretend ... I turn almost robotically ... this was a duty, not a hobby ... I’m no psychopath ... (the knife) as if it were mine...”Jasmine is also conscious of the influence of reading in English, particularly Steinbeck’s description of the release in the dead face of Curley’s wife: “pain and fear replaced by ignorant serenity.”

Another year 9 student, Beth, enjoys anime (Tokyo ghoul) and is increasingly interested in politics. She has been reading about genetic engineering and the secrecy surrounding mutations. She wants her story to capture what it might be like to grow up knowing that you are ‘not normal’. How would such a character tell their story? Beth reads me her writing which has more than a few echoes of Atwood and Orwell. In this dystopia, the controlling humans number the mutants, ‘as if they were things’. A disembodied human voice repeats a message over the tannoy. But the mutant-narrator despises her masters. She sneers at their values: “humans don’t kill other humans - unless they fail.” When she arrives at ‘the pain room’, the mutant-narrator decides to resist the humans, even though she knows, “If I was caught, I would be immediately put down.” At the critical moment, the narrative slows: “There was metal. A gun. And a command to shoot...”In discussing her story, Beth tells me of the planning she did which then enabled her to ‘show not tell’. “I didn’t want to add too much information. She’s a Voler – from the word ‘volatile’ – but she’s not aware that her species has a name. ... I took that from racism – one race thinks they’re superior to another.” I am struck by Beth’s maturity in the way she conceives of her story and controls the narrative.

These year 9 students are at ease with metaphor and grammar. They are not patching these things in place in order to ‘uplevel’. They are not forcing writing into a straight-jacket of ‘objectives’. They have been given time and responsibility to behave as writers. Their writing teacher has established a safe environment for pupils which is rooted in mutual respect: from her own teachers’ writing group, their teacher knows the importance of this. The students have their own writing notebooks; they write together regularly; they discuss the writing process. Their teacher has built on pupils’ capabilities and helped them reflect on their progress. Her students have received regular feedback – from each other as well as from her. As a result, they are engaged and motivated and growing in confidence. They are using their writing to explore ideas, connect their reading and shape their values and attitudes – and their progress is immeasurable.Whether or not the same writing freedoms will be so easily exercised in the future - during the utopian/dystopian GCSE years - remains to be seen. But the removal of the ‘hurdles’ of controlled conditions ‘coursework’ may help.